Clinton clarifies remarks 'comparing' Putin to Hitler

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to clarify comments that left the impression she had compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

In an appearance at the University of California, Clinton said: "The claims by President Putin and other Russians that they had to go into Crimea ... because they had to protect the Russian minorities.

"That is reminiscent of claims that were made in the 1930s when Germany under the Nazis kept talking about how they had to protect German minorities in Poland and Czechoslovakia".

"I just want everybody to have a little historic perspective - I'm not making a comparison certainly, but I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before".